WTTC: Over 15,000 Hotels Globally Adopt the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative

2013-06-05 — /travelprnews.com/ — Over 15,000 hotels around the world have so far adopted the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) methodology that allows them, for the first time, to calculate and communicate the carbon footprint of hotel stays and meetings in a consistent and transparent way.

This huge achievement is the result of months of hard work by the working group of International Tourism Partnership (ITP), the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and 23 leading global hospitality companies to roll out the methodology to their properties and to communicate the initiative to a wide range of stakeholders –including industry associations, certification bodies and corporate customers.

Version 1.1 of the methodology was issued today to mark World Environment Day. This latest version gives greater clarity on reporting emissions and has been streamlined to make it more user-friendly, including easy-reference emissions factor tables.

HCMI, a voluntary and free methodology, has been developed to be robust enough to meet global carbon reporting standards but also practical enough for any hotel to implement, from huge casino hotels to small bed and breakfasts.
At the recent WTTC Global Summit in Abu Dhabi, Bill Clinton acknowledged the importance of HCMI in his keynote address, stating that the travel industry has already started to take on the environmental agenda and that he was delighted to see the development of HCMI, thanking all companies involved for their collective efforts on it.

David Scowsill, President & CEO of WTTC said, “The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative is a fantastic example of the world’s largest hotels putting their competitive differences to one side to work together in the interests of the industry overall. It is fitting that we mark World Environment Day with the release of the next version and I hope that even more hotels will sign-up to use what is rapidly becoming a new industry standard”.

Stephen Farrant, Director of ITP says, “The industry’s willingness and ability to come together to make sense of the carbon issue, for the benefit of the customer, is a significant achievement and a great example of practical, effective collaboration on a critical environmental concern. With such a high volume of hotels globally now measuring their carbon footprint in a consistent way, and with corporate customers increasingly hungry for this information, this is a great step forward on World Environment Day.”

The Working Group responsible for the creation of HCMI comprises of leading international hotel companies such as Accor, Beijing Tourism Group, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Diamond Resorts International, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels, Hyatt Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Jumeirah Group, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Marriott International Inc, Meliá Hotels International, MGM Resorts International, NH Hoteles, Orient-Express Hotels Ltd, Pan Pacific Hotel Group, Premier Inn – Whitbread Group, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, The Red Carnation Hotel Collection, TUI AG, Wyndham Worldwide.
ENDS

Notes to Editors

• The International Tourism Partnership (ITP), founded in 1992, brings together the world’s leading international hotel companies to provide a voice for environmental and social responsibility in the industry. It works to demonstrate in a very practical way that environmental and social responsibility makes good business sense. ITP does this by highlighting best practice, offering a range of practical products and programmes and tackling emerging sustainability issues through its collaborative working groups. ITP’s programmes and products include, among others, the Youth Career Initiative, the Green Hotelier online magazine, the Environmental Management for Hotels handbook, and Sustainable Hotel Siting, Design and Construction. The combined reach of the membership extends to over 22,000 properties, over 3.2 million rooms and over 1.5 million employees in over 100 countries worldwide.

• The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the global authority on the economic and social contribution of Travel & Tourism. It promotes sustainable growth for the industry, working with governments and international institutions to create jobs, to drive exports and to generate prosperity. Travel & Tourism accounts for 255 million jobs globally. At US$6 trillion (9% of GDP) the sector is a key driver for investment and economic growth. For more than 20 years, the World Travel & Tourism Council has been the voice of this industry globally. Members are the Chairs, Presidents and Chief Executives of the world’s leading, private sector Travel & Tourism businesses. These Members bring specialist knowledge to guide government policy and decision-making, raising awareness of the importance of the industry as an economic generator of prosperity. WTTC’s Sustainability Initiative has already concluded a number of projects aimed at driving sustainable economic recovery and growth, namely: the ‘Leading the Challenge on Climate Change’ report, and ‘Climate Change – A Joint Approach to Addressing the Challenge’.

For media information, please contact:
WTTC: Toby Nicol, Director of Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7481 6483 Email: toby.nicol@wttc.org

ITP: Holly Tuppen, Communications Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7467 3622 Email: holly.tuppen@iblf.org

For further information, please contact:
info@hotelcarboninitiative.org

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